Flight MH17: Tony Abbott confronts Vladimir Putin at APEC summit

BEIJING: Tony Abbott has confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the APEC leaders' summit in Beijing, holding him complicit in the downing of flight MH17 and calling for Russia to apologise and consider restitution.

The talks on Tuesday – originally billed as a serious confrontation over the MH17 atrocity – followed a few brief words on Monday evening.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the APEC leaders' summit in Beijing.Credit:AFP

Mr Abbott had famously promised to "shirtfront" the Russian strongman – known for his outdoor adventure-sports prowess – over Russian military involvement in the aircraft's downing.

During a sharp 15 minutes, Mr Abbott pointed out that when the US had inadvertently shot down an airliner, it had apologised and paid financial compensation.

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He commended that precedent to Mr Putin.

And living up to his "shirtfront" threat, he revealed directly to Mr Putin

Mr Abbott noted that if true, it would be a very serious matter.

The high-octane meeting, which made headlines around the world, was originally intended to take place in Brisbane at the G20.

Mr Abbott opted to confront the Russian President when it became clear he would not be successful in either convincing other world leaders to speak out against Mr Putin's attendance in protest at the MH17 atrocity, nor in shaming Mr Putin into not attending.

With 38 Australians dead, the Abbott government had led the global outrage at the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight over Ukraine by Russian-backed separatists using what was thought to be Russian-supplied weaponry.

But as the G20 loomed, Mr Abbott apparently thought better of having his own event overwhelmed by attention on the Russian confrontation and sought an earlier meeting on the sidelines of APEC. It was the Russians who confirmed the APEC meeting would go ahead.

Both sides apparently agreed to abide by UN Security Council resolution 2166, which requires full co-operation with the independent investigation.

It is just part of the unfinished business at this APEC summit.

Hopes of settling a historic free trade agreement with China in time for inking during the G20-related visit of President Xi Jinping next weekend are under strain, with last-minute hitches still threatening to delay resolution.

It is understood a deal that could turbocharge the $150 billion annual two-way trade is all but finalised save for a couple of sticking points.

These are thought to include Australian visa restrictions limiting the number of Chinese workers brought in to staff investment projects worth less than $2 billion.

It is understood Beijing wants the investment threshold lowered to allow Chinese workers in on smaller projects. The issue is fraught with political sensitivities for the Abbott government, with the opposition likely to complain against any deal that could be seen to put Chinese jobs ahead of Australian ones.

Asked about the policy in principle in Beijing, Trade Minister Andrew Robb assured Australians that no deal would be done to allow Chinese labour to undercut Australian labour by operating at lower rates than apply under Australian law.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who previously placed an end-of-year target on the protracted nine-year negotiation process, had hoped to be clear of the final hurdles by now, enabling a signing ceremony around President Xi's visit and address to the Australian Parliament.

Government insiders remain confident that a deal will still be finalised in time for the visit.

While dairy and meat producers are expected to do well out of the agreement, which like its New Zealand forerunner phases out Chinese import tariffs over time, other areas may be less agreeable to Australia industry sectors.

Easing Chinese tourism restrictions into Australia has been a priority for Beijing after it secured the agreement of the Obama administration to ease access for Chinese nationals.

Currently, most Chinese tourists looking to enter Australia have to fill out pages of forms on family and travel history, acting as a strong disincentive to travel to Australia.

In a further development on the free trade front as the APEC meeting wound up, US President Barack Obama backed the Chinese proposal for a free trade agreement in the Asia Pacific.